Summertime Sadness

Summer II: Miu Kazashiro (Define Dancing)

"Dancing: a series of movements involving two partners, where speed and rhythm match harmoniously with music."

-Wall-E

Today was the day.

First year student Miu Kazashiro checked her makeup one more time in front of the mirror. She was so excited! Just days before the prom, she was asked by the King of Amanogawa High to dance with him. She immediately responded with a huge "YES!". It took everything inside her to not scream for the whole campus to hear, and even now she couldn't stop that giant grin on her face as she stood up from her vanity table and raced downstairs.

"Miu!" Miu's mother exclaimed, gasping at the beautiful blue dress her daughter was wore. "It looks beautiful!"

"Thank you, okaa-san," Miu replied, looking at her attire. The blue maxi-dress was a nice shade of cerulean, the neckline decorated with white and black beads. Draped over her shoulders was a white shawl she knitted just for the occasion. Her lips were colored with bright pink lipstick, and her cheeks also had a similar shade of pink blush. Her feet were adorned with a pair of black flats, and in her hands was a small purse in the shape of a seashell. "Is Tamae here?"

"She's in the living room waiting for you. Now come!" Miu's mother dragged her daughter to the living room where Miu's best friend, Tamae Sakuma, waited. Tamae was dressed in a vibrant forest green mini-dress with a necklace depicting a silver lizard and on her feet were a pair of silver high heels. "You two look magnificent!"

"Thank you, Kazashiro-san," said Tamae. She took Miu's hand as she saw her best friend's dress. "Miu, blue is a beautiful color on you!"

"I know! Kota-sempai told me to wear 'something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue' for tonight!" Miu giggled. "The dress was borrowed from a rental company, I knitted the shawl myself, and my shoes are my mother's. Thus, I fulfilled everything he said. Isn't that great?"

"You know," said Miu's mother, a smile on her face. "In the Western world. the phrase is considered to be a good luck charm for those about to be married."

"Really?" Tamae gasped. "Miu-chan, do you think that Kota-sempai was asking you for your hand in marriage?"

"Who knows?" Miu looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it read 6:30 PM. "Oops! We have to get going! Tamae's dad is driving us to the prom!"

"Bye then, Kazashiro-san!" said Tamae, opening the door. "We'll be back soon!"

"Take care now!" said Miu's mother, waving at the two girls rushing off into the night.

0-0-0-0-0-0

When Miu and Tamae entered Amanogawa High, the auditorium was decorated in long white streamers and gold balloons that touched the ceiling. There were tables set up with giant vases of flowers and platters of hoer d'oeurves. Many of the students were on the dance floor, flipping, twirling and cheering at how they were able to celebrate their graduation and leaving of High school.

"Look!" said Tamae, pointing to a figure in a blue tuxedo. "That's him! Kota Kazuraba!"

Miu placed a hand over her mouth when Kota turned his gaze toward her. She always dreamed of this moment—the man of her dreams coming to her in a dark blue tuxedo and black and white checkered tie, a bouquet of white roses in hand, and a smile on his face. She leaned close, almost at the point that she was waiting for the special kiss on the lips. Her heart pounded against her chest, her pulse quickened. This was the most important day of her life, and she was going to make sure everything was perfect.

Kota bowed toward Miu, placing a hand over her own. Miu blushed as she stared into Kota's eyes. She was going to faint right there and then, she knew that.

"Miu-chan," said Kota, inspecting the beautiful blue ballgown that Miu wore for the evening. "Blue really suits you."

"Really?" Miu blushed. "You look great too! Do you have your something borrowed, old and new too?"

"I guess you can say that," Kota smiled. "I'll tell you what: if you can guess all three of the borrowed, old and new items on me before the night is over, I'll give you a special surprise. What do you say?"

"I'd...I'd..." Miu squealed and screamed, "I'D LOVE TO, KOTA-SEMPAI!" The music stopped playing and everyone turned to the three near the hoer d'oeurves. "Um..."

"It's all right everyone," Kota explained. "Just, go back to what you were doing."

The music blared once more as everyone continued talking, dancing and eating. Tamae dragged Miu to the table where the three would sit, somewhere between praising and scolding her friend for her yell. Miu took a few deep breaths, trying to contain her excitement. She couldn't help it—Kota was going to give her a surprise!

"Deep breaths," said Tamae, stroking her best friend's back. "Just relax."

"How can I relax?" Miu exclaimed, seeing Kota sit down and set the white roses near his plate. Kota waved at her, and she waved back before telling Tamae, "He's going to give me a kiss! Or maybe even more..."

"Just try and think of this realistically. He's two years ahead of you and probably moving away to some big city and all that. Maybe he'll find some cute girl to settle down with and..." Tamae watched Miu turn away from her and focus on Kota, sighing as she saw her friend ignore her.

"So," said Kota, clearing his throat. "You have anything to ask?"

"Um," Miu looked under the table and saw Kota wearing checkered sneakers instead of dress shoes. She smiled. "Your sneakers are the thing that are old, aren't they?"

"Mm-hmm..." Kota nodded his head. Miu smiled—she knew that Kota would usually wear a pair of black and white checkered sneakers while on school campus.

"And the blue tuxedo was rented from the local tuxedo store down the street..."

"Yes..."

"And the thing that would be..." Miu tilted her head as she took a close look at the outfit. Pinned near Kota's breast was a white rose corsage in bloom. She smiled. "Oh, I see...the corsage is what's something new. Right?"

"Nope," Kota replied. "It's a fake corsage—it belongs to my older sister. Sorry about that."

"Unfair!" Miu pouted. "It looks brand new to me..."

"Come on, the night is still young," Kota chuckled. "Enjoy the moment. Shall we dance?"

Miu's grin spread from ear to ear as the two stood up, approaching the dance floor. Miu waved back to Tamae as she placed a hand on Kota's shoulder. The two began to dance and twirl around, Miu's heart nearly leaping out of her chest.

"There was something I wanted to tell you," Kota began. "Do you know why I asked you to be my partner tonight?"

"No..." Miu blushed. She knew why she wanted to dance with Kota, ranging from his looks to being just a nice guy wanting to help others, but she herself never considered why he accepted her proposal so quickly. "W...why was that?"

"It's because I aw so much in you," Kota answered. "To me, prom is a celebration of what you've accomplished throughout High School, and to pass the torch to the next new stars of youth. For that, I saw a girl rising above the others, putting in so much effort to become the Queen of Amanogawa High and more. I chose you because I loved your determination."

"My determnation...but not...me?" Miu felt her heart nearly shatter in two. "But..."

"There are so many aspects about you that I want..." Kota added. "But I know that it's not my place to take them. So, let me give you some advice: remember what you've accomplished. These accomplishments are the ones that propel you forward."

Miu stayed quiet as she slipped her hand away from Kota's. It was there that she noticed a ring on his left ring finger. Her eyes were almost magnetized to it, that band of gold making her friend's words clearer.

"That something new thing..." Miu whispered. "You're wearing a new ring..."

"Oh this?" asked Kota, seeing the ring. "Oh, that was from my childhood friend, Mai. I'm going back to Zaname City to study business. I want to help my older sister in her work at Yggdrasil. You understand, right?"

"I...I do." Miu felt the tears forming in her eyes. "Um, Kota-san...I need to sit down. Please excuse me."

Kota slowly nodded as Miu rushed back to her friend's arms, wiping away the mascara-stained tears that began to pour down her face.

0-0-0-0-0

Two years later, Miu Kazashiro was just a few hours away from graduating Amanogawa High.

She stood on the moon's surface, looking at the beauty of the planet Earth. She was going to miss coming here. She had so many memories being with the Kamen Rider Club, fighting off Zodiarts, hanging out with her good friends, secretly wishing that every day leading up to this day would be filled with excitement. However, she knew that all good things would eventually come to an end.

"Hey, Miu!" Miu turned, seeing Gentaro Kisaragi—as Kamen Rider Fourze—float toward her across the moon's surface. She smiled.

"So you knew that I came here?" she said, pacing back and forth. "I knew you would...I just wanted to come here one last time before I offer the title of Club President to Yuki."

"I beg you, Miu." Miu heard Gentaro slap his hands together. "Have this last dance with Shun. He's really serious about this request, you know."

Miu stayed quiet, imaging a dance with Shun. Instead, all she could think about was that song and dance with Kota two years ago. She bit her lip. That was an old memory, when she was a young and innocent girl who experienced heartbreak for the first time. She was older, mature, strong-willed...she had let go of the past.

She turned to Fourze. "Prom isn't just your typical dance party," she began. "It represents everything that you've done in High School—a culmination of what you've done for the past three years. And at prom," She curtseyed. "There is a special song and dance that has been performed every year. I want to perform that dance with the person who left the biggest impression on me in Amanogawa. That's you. I want it to be the real end mark of my life here."

"Shun wants that too," said Gentaro. "His feelings for you are genuine, Miu. He truly loves you."

Miu hesitated, recalling the ring on Kota's finger, and the name of the girl who gave it to him. Then, she smiled.

"Since it was a request from you, I'll consider it..." Miu whispered. She walked back toward the Rabbit Hatch, more and more memories flashing by. A part of her wondered what Kota was doing in Zaname City, another part of her felt saddened by the romance that could've been with him. A tiny part of her felt like crying that she was saying goodbye to the people she loved, and the school that changed her life forever.

The main thing that Miu focused on that moment, was her farewell dance with Gentaro Kisaragi.

Coming up: Tomoko Nozama was painfully shy growing up. An encounter with a trio of vampires who live their own "Gothic Lifestyle" might just be thing she needs to become something else.

Next: Summer III, "Magic in the Makeup"